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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. craft — a skill
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. key — for a lock
  9. clip — a video
  10. stock — shares
  11. file — a tool
  12. vault — a safe
  13. wound — an injury
  14. stock — goods
  15. clip — to cut
  16. file — a document
  17. wound — an injury
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. craft — boats
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bulb — for light
  22. file — a line of people
  23. key — in music
  24. bulb — for light

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com